Josh Kraft pushes Mayor Wu to reveal cabinet chief’s ‘role’ in Boston City Hall dispute

After a city councilor called for Boston s Chief of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion Segun Idowu to be ousted mayoral candidate Josh Kraft pressed Mayor Michelle Wu to reveal Idowu s role in the City Hall domestic violence controversy Kraft issued a report Monday that his campaign revealed is regarding questions surrounding the role of the city s chief of economic opportunity and inclusion in a new dispute between several subordinates I share the concerns raised by City Councilor Flynn about the chief of economic opportunity and inclusion Kraft declared While it is disturbing to learn that a domestic dispute involving two City Hall aides turned into an assault on a police officer the suggestion that a cabinet chief who is one of Mayor Wu s majority visible advisors has played a role in this predicament demands to be addressed The masses deserves more information he added Mayor Wu demands to tell the masses what she knows about the involvement of the chief of economic opportunity and inclusion in this matter When it comes to being transparent about bad news such as with the up-to-date BPS bus tragedy Mayor Wu has repeatedly failed to be straightforward with the masses Kraft Wu s principal challenge in the mayoral race added The mayor should follow the protocol in place to handle assertions of improper conduct by any city employee by referring the matter to the Boston Police Department Anti-Corruption office which has the authority to review such matters Two city employees Marwa Khudaynazar chief of staff for the Office of Police Accountability and Transparency and Chulan Huang neighborhood business manager for the Office of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion were arrested and charged in an alleged domestic violence occurrence last week Both were charged with assault and battery on a household member in connection with the alleged situation which took place at a Chinatown apartment Khudaynazar a top official at the police accountability office was also charged with assault and battery on a police officer The two employees pleaded not guilty to the charges at their arraignments at Boston Municipal Court last Thursday They were placed on unpaid leave while the city investigates a Wu spokesperson mentioned in a announcement last week Idowu was not named in the police review He has headed the city s Office of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion since January and did not respond to a request for comment on Monday The mayor s office issued a comment on Monday following the Herald s inquiries about Flynn and Kraft s statements regarding Idowu but did not mention the economic opportunity and inclusion chief The city takes these charges seriously a Wu spokesperson revealed When we learned of the situation last Thursday both employees were placed on unpaid leave straightaway We are following the appropriate protocols as an employer and completing an internal review Related Articles Councilor Flynn calls for Economic Opportunity and Inclusion chief s resignation Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson was K in debt at time of K kickback Boston Mayor Wu launches campaign effort to get her preferred city councilor on ballot Battenfeld Buck stops with Mayor Wu on deadly bus accident Boston Police union responds to alleged City Hall love triangle mess Especially troubling Flynn called for both employees charged in the case to be fired upon their arrests becoming masses last week On Sunday he called for Idowu s resignation and termination as well saying on X that the cabinet chief failed to provide positive and ethical leadership to its employees businesses and Boston residents The councilor who represents Chinatown did not specify why he was calling for Idowu to be ousted He did however rehash parts of a prior comment he circulated in response to the alleged domestic violence happening Flynn called for an outside study into the hiring practices workplace values and conditions at several related city departments the Office of Police Accountability and Transparency Office of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion and Mayor s Office of Neighborhood Services Mayoral candidate Josh Kraft Photo By Matt Stone Boston Herald File